Barney's Blog

Surface Interest

Redmond magazine just published a survey of you, the Redmond print and/or online reader on Microsoft's Surface tablet. Results show a fairly keen interest in Surface with some 63 percent saying they are "very interested" in the recently released Microsoft hardware.

Because you are IT pros most of you were far more interested in the more enterprise-ready Intel-based versions, which can connect to AD, run existing apps (but blow their batteries a bit more quickly than on ARM).

Some 49 percent plan to use Surface primarily for work, 28 percent for media and 22.6 percent to create content.

Two readers weighed in with opposite views. Here are some positive thoughts from Mary S. who commented in the survey:

"When Microsoft comes out with a tablet, the company will have businesses in mind, and it will build in the ability to secure the tablets. People will be able to use the Microsoft Office suite the way its intended, and it will be more stable and more powerful than the iPad was ever intended to be. The iPad is great for the consumer market, but has no real business value that we've been able to ascertain. I expect the Microsoft tablet will be able to provide business-level capability when it arrives, and I'll be able to secure it through Active Directory."

Here's a Web comment related to the pricing ($500 with no keyboard, $600 for one with 32GB of storage and a keyboard):

"All of that interest now squandered due to the ridiculous pricing of the Windows RT Surface. Not that it was the one even remotely worth considering, given it only runs Windows RT application no one's going to build, but because it means the Intel version, the version with any chance of actual relevance, will be obscenely overpriced -- both now destined to fade to black, joining Zune and Vista in the rogue's gallery of abysmal Microsoft failures."

What do you think of Surface? Have your say at dbarney@redmondmag.com.